There Are Two Kinds of Gamers…

I know I've mentioned this a time or two before, but long
before the days of my video game blogging I used to post a non-video game
related blog at a few other websites. And kind of like my weekly Member Herding
blog at Game Informer Online, I used to post a weekly series called "There are
Two Kinds of People..."

The blog essentially compared and contrasted unique
personalities in a particular situation. For example, one that I recall off the
top of my head...There are two kinds of people, bad drivers and those who think
they are good drivers.

Well, tonight kind of expands the original premise of "there
are two kinds of people" into the realm of video games...and so we're left with...

"There are two kinds of gamers; those who make a big deal
out of the little details and those who don't. "

Okay, so to be honest...I'm not sure where the majority of
gamers are on this issue. I can only speak for myself and I am one of those
gamers who think all the "little things" can result in a "big thing".

So at this point you might be thinking, "What the heck is he
talking about?"

I'm talking the little details in a game. Instead of trying
to explain it to you, let me give you some examples and then maybe I'll explain
it more.

I played the Mafia II demo. Your character starts off in his
house and the house is...of course...furnished. The radio is playing. So I "use"
the radio (and by use, I mean the key on your keyboard or the button on your
joystick that allows you to interact with the environment). Using the radio
cycles it through the different radio stations or turns it off. I actually
listen to the music. As I make my way through the house, I find the bathroom and
toilet. I "use" the toilet and smirk a little when the commode flushes.
Basically, before I leave the house, I examine (and use) everything I am able
to look at.

I'm not making this up, but there was a time when I was
playing Half Life 2 and came across a paint can. I had the gravity gun and just
randomly picked up this paint can and flung it against the wall. Much to my
surprise, when the paint can hit the wall, a splash of paint actually came out
and marred up the wall. At first I didn't know if it was from the paint can so I
tried it again. Once I confirmed it was indeed from the paint can, the Van Gogh
in me was released and I spent at least a half hour painting the walls by
flinging paint cans at it.

In Modern Warfare, you practice your knifing skills on
watermelon. When you stab the melon, it slices it into nice little serving size
pieces. It looks like real watermelon even. In Modern Warfare and Modern
Warfare 2, there are lots of little objects that are breakable, from windows to
glass bottles, that makes your spraying and praying efforts a more enjoyable
experience.

Far Cry 2 had the ability to catch trees and the grassy plains
on fire.

Crysis has the ability to shoot down trees. I'm not quite
sure why that was so enjoyable but I would get on a turreted weapon and mow
down some trees. Good times!

It's the little details.

It's like the time in Ghost Recon I was playing a sniper and
shot a vehicle in the tire and disabled it. You could actually see the
tire deflate.

There are several games that have soda machines or vending
machines. Whenever I "use" an item like this and it actually has an effect, I'm
like a little kid with a box of Cracker Jacks - waiting for the prize no matter
how cheesy it is.

So, the point of this blog...I am (are you?) the kind of gamer
that as I go through each map or level, I am continually admiring and
evaluating the environment for the little details to see what I can interact
with. While these little details aren't necessarily needed, they do enhance the
overall experience and certainly add a degree of realism.

"There are two kinds
of gamers; those who make a big deal out of the little details and those who don't."